Thomas C. Hauser, Plaintiff, v. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., et al., Defendants, 140 Misc. 2d 82

Summary

Under the author's contract with the hardback publisher, if the book went out of print, the author had the right to demand that the hardback publisher either reissue the work or revert all rights to him. The hardback publisher gave the paperback publisher the exclusive license to publish the paperback version. Because of a libel action, the publishers refused to reissue and promote the book, even after the suit was dismissed. The publishers argued that the contracts imposed no enforceable obligation upon them to promote and publish the work. The court disagreed and denied summary judgment. The court found that there were issues of fact as to whether the hardback publisher breached the obligation of good faith and fair dealing in allowing the book to go out of print and breached a contractual obligation by failing to effectuate a reversion of rights to the author. The court found that the author was an intended third-party beneficiary of the publishers' contract. The court granted the ...